fiscal cliff? was it sandy? was it some sentiment that came out ofthenewtowntragedy?it's hard to say. >> but it may be a combination of all of those. we got a sense from the guests we brought on earlier this week, on monday, that it was not a great holiday selling season, as we ended the last day before christmas. and all those may be the reasons, carl. i'm positive i didn't think people really understood the fiscal cliff. i may have been wrong. perhaps it was something that weighed on people's minds. the weather always at issue. it could actually have been warmer weather as well that contributed. we've had some analysts say that because people don't feel they have to go out and buy a coat. >> because it will never get cold again. >> except today, when it's 28 degrees. we'll see how after christmas does. internet also, it doesn't appear as online sales are up as p as anticipated. and perhaps they made up for the loss of the brick and mortar. >> you were pointing out before the show, luxury was not immune to this. you would think it would be more in tune to the consequences a clif

you have to take into account there's sandy, the tragedy upinnewtown. alot of different things. in front of us is the fiscal cliff. everybody has been talking about it. we've been talking about it. here we are past christmas getting very close to the 31st and still nothing resolved. for those reasons i think people are holding off. they're going to make some decisions later on. maybe those decisions don't happen until january. >> joe, you can blame what you want. you can say it's hurricane sandy, the fiscal cliff, discretionary the second best performing sector in the s&p here to date. is this a sign to start taking money off the table if you have it in the retailers? >> i think you categorize it by saying it's sprung a little bit of a leak. year to date, they've been strong. what do the allocations do? clearly you've looked at the u.s. economy and you've said it's been the services over the goods. money managers are taking a look at the potential recovery in manufacturing. they're looking at softening and consumer discretionary. it is on the back of sandy. it's moving into the